A sign alerts travelers to expect holiday traffic delays at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012, in Houston. Americans can expect airports to be busier and planes to be fuller than ever, according to a forecast by the main trade association for U.S. airlines release ahead of the holiday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

AP FILE PHOTOSlightly fewer Americans are expecting to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday this year, according to a recent survey by auto club AAA.

A United Airlines flight information screen displays flight information, including many canceled and delayed flights, at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2012. The season's first major snowstorm has forced airlines to cancel more than 500 flights at O'Hare and Midway airports. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

By STEVEN J. SMITH

Sun Correspondent

Text Size:

Auto club AAA and Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport officials agree Thanksgiving week traffic should fall off a bit this year compared to last — although Punta Gorda Airport expects more passengers — and travel by bus and rail will rise a little.

As revealed in its just-released annual travel survey, AAA expects 43.4 million Americans to journey at least 50 miles from home this week for the Thanksgiving holiday, which means a decrease of 1.5 percent from the 44 million who traveled last year, according to AAA spokeswoman Jessica Brady. Of those 43.4 million travelers, 38.9 million — or 90 percent — will go by car (1.6 percent less than last year), 3.14 million by air (a 3.7 percent decrease), and 1.39 million by other means, such as bus or rail (an increase of 9.5 percent).

You are currently not logged inBy logging in you can see the full story.